Making your own ham


 
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David Funk

TVWBB Member
Has anyone ever tried making your own fresh ham from scratch? I don't mean taking an existing processed ham and then smoking it. I mean starting with the back leg of a pig/hog and actually creating the ham yourself.

Everything I have ever seen here seems to start with a piece of meat that is already 'ham' and then modifying it in some way...

- Dave -
 
David,
This is so strange. My wife and I have a niece
who raised 2 hogs for the 4H where she lives and
we are buying 1/2 of one from them. I also wanted to try a "scratch" ham. I ordered a kit from Allied Kenco in Houston. It seemed expensive + shipping. You can check it out at the website.
I copied this from the "BBQ Resources' area of the main WSM site:
Allied Kenco: 800-356-5189, 713-691-2935
"Supplying everything but the meat", Allied Kenco focuses on supplies for sausage making, jerky making, and outdoor cooking. This is your source for Trend thermometers, Morton Tender Quick, smoking bags for turkeys and hams, and tons of other interesting items you never knew you needed.

I won't be trying this out for about a month as we are fattening the hogs on corn before the processing.
 
Pat,

Thanks for the info!

So how does your niece feel about the demise of the hogs she raised? That must be difficult...

- Dave -
 
David,
I don't think she is as bothered by it. She raised chickens also and they just got finished
"slaughtering" about 20 of them. I think is her
third year in 4H,one with just chickens and two
with both so i guess she got over it.

Thanks for the webbies,Chris
 
David,

If you are interested in curing and smoking hams I would suggest you check out the following site.

http://www.velvitoil.com/Curing.HTML

I'm not sure there is anything here that would apply to the WSM but this site has some fascinating history and methods on curing and smoking many kinds of meat.

John M. Haslip
Ottawa
 
Thank you, John. I was looking for the link to this site when I posted the other day, but couldn't find it. I've bookmarked it!

Regards,
Chris
 
For many years we made ham, bacon and jowl from our own pigs in a cold smoker made from a hog feeder with a firepit. I would suggest that before proceeding,you go to Mortonsalt.com>>> http://www.mortonsalt.com/prod/proiprod.htm and read what is there. Cold smoking a large piece of meat can be tricky. Morton published a booklet "A COMPLETE GUIDE TO HOME MEAT CURING". This may be out of print. While you are at Morton. com., go to "Ask Rose" and request a copy. It's possible that it still available. My copy was obtained about 1981. If you can't get this let me know.

Unless the brining and curing are done properly, you are headed for disaster. Sorry for painting this so bleak, but it concerns your investment in time, material and ultimately your health.

willg@jvil.com
 
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